1938 Film In Name Only Offers Rare Performances
Showcases Dramatic Side of Comedic Duo Cary Grant & Carole Lombard
Oct 17, 2008
In Name Only begins with Carole Lombard’s character, Julie, tossing a fishing pole haphazardly back and forth in an attempt at fishing. Instead, she snags every single tree in the vicinity. Along comes Cary Grant as Alec, and unhooks her line from the branch. The two begin to talk, and soon Julie tells Alec that she is a widow while Alec finishes off at least half of Julie's lunch.
The next day Julie brings her daughter with her to her meeting with Alec. The pair already act like old friends, joking and teasing each other. When he leaves, Alec takes Julie’s sketchpad, promising to give it back later. Later comes sooner than either of them expect when a car accident throws Alec nearly into Julie’s front yard. It is this way that Julie discovers that Alec is married.
When Maida, Kay Francis as Alec’s wife, shows up to tend to her unconscious husband, she discovers Julie’s sketchpad in Alec’s car and assumes that she was with him that evening. She confronts him, and he in turn confronts her about the fact that she married him to attain his wealth and social status, while she was in love with someone else.
The Manipulative Wife
Maida is a conniving liar who has no intention of granting the divorce Alec asks for. She doesn’t want to lose the social standing she’s attained, and she plays the victim in order to lure Alec’s parents to her side. She lies to Alec and tells him that she will agree to the divorce, and goes with his parents to Paris under the pretense of filing while she’s there.
Maida keeps making excuses to Alec about why the papers haven’t been filed yet, and extends her stay in Paris longer and longer. The wait puts an emotional strain on Julie, and she almost calls things off. Alec persuades Julie to be patient, as he still thinks that Maida is going through with the divorce.
Months pass, and Alec is preparing to go to Julie’s apartment to spend Christmas with her and her daughter when Maida and his parents show up to surprise him. Alec pulls his parents aside to tell them how he feels, and at the same time Julie shows up at his apartment and is confronted by Maida. She tells Julie that she has no intention of divorcing Alec, and if he tries to divorce her, she’ll make things ugly for all of them.
Supporting Actress Francis Shines
Besides the obvious appeal of Lombard and Grant in the film, Kay Francis gives one of the best performances of her career. While Francis was offered the role of Maida at the request of Lombard, who was a good friend, Francis had also been really excited about playing such a character. As a contract player with Warner Brothers, she didn't get many opportunities to play roles that had as much of an emotional spectrum as Maida, and she certaintly wasn't often given the role of the villainess. Kay Francis revelled in it, and exceeded everyone's expectations.
Brilliant dramatic turns for Lombard and Grant
In Name Only is one of the more serious films Lombard and Grant did in their careers. At the time of its release, this posed somewhat of a problem for the audience, who loved seeing these two actors in the screwball, zany comedy they were both loved and admired for. While a departure from their traditional characters, In Name Only is a terrific pairing of two remarkable actors, Cary Grant and Carole Lombard.
- In Name Only
- Starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard
- Written by Bessie Breuer (novel), Richard Sherman (screenplay)
- Directed by John Cromwell
- Running time: 94 minutes
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